For Zheng Zhilong, today's military and political affairs of the court are no different from business at sea, and what he seeks is the word "profit".

Ishii Zheng was able to get to this situation today, and Zheng Zhilong contributed a lot. Because of this, he also wants to keep the glory and power in his hands for a longer time, he also has sons and grandsons, and the Xuanhe of the Zheng family should be passed on from generation to generation, just like the British government back then, honored from generation to generation, and retired with the country.

Other things, it doesn't seem so important. It is nothing more than a bargaining chip in the process of the Zheng family's advancement, and everything has to be discussed.

"As a courtier of the Ming Dynasty, recovering the lost territory and returning the capital to the north is indeed the first priority of the imperial court! The thieves have been in danger for more than ten years, and now it's time to calm down! From the moment he obtained the official status, Zheng Zhilong knew that those who are officials should be treated differently when they speak and do things.

Yang Shicong was not annoyed, and smiled faintly. In comparison, Zheng Zhilong was far from reaching their level of Zhou Yanru and other bigwigs that Yang Shicong had followed back then, and just at that moment, Yang Shicong had already caught the flickering in his eyes.

"Master Hou is very right!" Yang Shicong nodded yes, "The regent Rui Wang Ye also means this, after Li Zicheng captured the Beijing Division, the Central Plains was in turmoil, General Wu Sangui and others had great righteousness and asked me for help in Manchuria, and King Rui was worried about the world, so he led the army into the pass, all the way through the thorns, and now the thieves are driven to Jingxiang." When he came, King Rui had told him a thousand times, that is, he instructed the lower officials to tell the Hou Ye exactly what he meant, and let the grievances and grievances before the Ming and Qing dynasties disperse with the wind. Now we have to look forward! ”

"I don't know what Prince Rui means when he says 'look forward'?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

"Since I entered the customs of the Qing Dynasty, even the lands of Gyeonggi, Hebei, Shanxi, and now even Ningxia, Gansu have also descended from the wind. In order to chase down the Liukou, the elite of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty poured out. Countless casualties were lost in successive battles. If Hou Ye said a fluttering word, he would let my Eight Banners army retreat to the outside of the pass, it would obviously be out of place, not to mention that the Manchu Dynasty's relatives and nobles did not agree, and even the ordinary soldiers in the Eight Banners Army would be dissatisfied. ”

Zheng Hongkui snorted coldly, "Could this be the reason why the Great Qing Dynasty occupies the place where my ancestors' mausoleum is buried?" Emperor Longwu has just succeeded to the throne. Appoint virtuous and virtuous, make great efforts, now the army gathers in Huguang, Nanzhili, exterminate the thieves is just overnight, if the Qing Dynasty insists on refusing to withdraw from my Ming territory, then I will not hesitate to fight! ”

Yang Shicong hurriedly waved his hand, "Master Hou misunderstood the meaning of the lower officials, I think that after years of fighting, both of you and I are exhausted." The people also need to recuperate. The most important thing at the moment is to uproot the thieves, and we can't give them a chance to resurrect again. ”

Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui exchanged a look with each other, and their faces relaxed at the same time. Yang Shicong continued: "But there is one point, the lower officials made it clear to the two marquis. How the Ming and Qing dynasties got along in the future and how to divide the territory was discussed and negotiated by the central courtiers of the two sides. But now there is an obstacle between the two sides, and they have to explain it clearly. ”

"Lord Yang, please speak!"

"Your wise king, Zhu Ping'an, is a fierce soldier. repeatedly invaded the land of Hebei and provoked wars. As far as the lower officials know. However, he did not follow the edict of the Ming Dynasty and used troops privately. We also know that because of the matter of establishing a prince, your court has made waves. Now, Zhu Ping'an is bent on going his own way, but he is incompatible with my Qing Dynasty. If this goes on for a long time, will it not delay the peace talks between the two sides? Therefore, the Qing Dynasty hoped that the Ming court and the Hou Ye could exert pressure on the Rui King of Shandong and no longer use swords and soldiers! ”

Zheng Zhilong smiled. "This, Ben Hou is powerless! As we all know, King Rui is the eldest son of His Majesty, rising in the grass, now sitting on 100,000 soldiers, thinking day and night is to regain the lost land, the recovery of rivers and mountains, the courtiers and the people also have a lot of response, this marquis can not risk the world's disapproval, raise objections, in that way, isn't it self-inflicted trouble? ”

Hearing Zheng Zhilong say this, Yang Shicong's face gradually became cold, "If the prince says this, then the lower officials will also say ugly things in front." His Royal Highness King Rui has repeatedly embarrassed me in the Qing Dynasty, the giant deer battled, the seventh son of the first emperor Abatai Prince died in his hands, these years, His Royal Highness the King Rui Wang has stained the blood of countless soldiers in my Qing Dynasty, to put it mildly, I have a great hatred for the nobles and civil and military, down to the ordinary soldiers, and want to kill it quickly. If King Rui insists on going his own way, continues to stir up trouble, and uses troops against our Qing Dynasty, then my Qing Dynasty will do everything in its power to counterattack, and according to the current strength of my Qing Dynasty, it seems that it is not difficult to attack Shandong! ”

Listening to Yang Shicong's words, Zheng Zhilong's heart was so happy that he almost laughed out loud, but his face still maintained a calm and breezy look.

It's just a joke, dog eats dog between Manchu Qing and Zhu Ping'an, what's the matter with my Zheng family! In today's imperial court, the strategy has been decided. Exterminating the thieves is the most important thing at the moment, and a Li Zicheng's head can make the Zheng family become the Zhongxing minister of the Ming Dynasty, and nothing is as important as this matter. Going out of the Northern Expedition and fighting a decisive battle with the Qing army, but it was only after that that it was necessary to consider, how to minimize the losses of the Zheng family, consume the soldiers and horses of the governors in various places, and make the Zheng family reap the profits, which is the intention of the Zheng family.

The Qing army was going to attack Shandong and fight a decisive battle with Zhu Ping'an, and the battle would be fought, and the provinces south of the Yangtze River would not reinforce a single soldier.

Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong slowly spoke, "King Rui is dedicated to the country, he is the pillar of the imperial court, if the Qing Dynasty goes to war with him, the imperial court will never sit idly by." The establishment of the prince is a state affair, but it is a private affair of the heavenly family, and it must not involve the strategy of the imperial court. Since Lord Yang said so, there is no need to talk about it further! As he spoke, Zheng Zhilong took the tea cup and motioned for the tea to be sent to the guests.

Yang Shicong didn't say anything more, stood up, and said goodbye with a calm face.

Zheng Hongkui instructed his henchmen to send him out of the house, and then turned back to the study, "Brother, today's meeting with the envoy of Dongyu is not smooth, will it affect our army's use of troops in Huguang?" Shanxi also has the elite soldiers of the Qing Army's Han military camp and the Eight Banners, if they also take advantage of the trend to go south, then our plan ......? ”

Zheng Zhilong smiled, a smug smile covered his bronzed face, and every wrinkle seemed to stretch out in an instant, "Say gradually!" You're a little too obsessed! Today's meeting with Yang Shicong, each takes what he needs, we have gained from the Manchu Qing Dynasty, where did it come from? ”

Zheng Hongkui was taken aback and looked confused. "Brother, where did you start?"

Zheng Zhilong put down the teacup with satisfaction, "Dongyu is here to probe our style. Zhu Ping'an's troops entered Liaodong and recovered the four guards of Jinzhou, not to mention, these days, Lu Xiangsheng under his command was ready to move again, and Dongyu had to transfer the troops and horses of Shanxi back to assist in defense. Zhu Ping'an's thoughts, you and I know very well, it is nothing more than to settle the situation with war, he now has the identity of a son-in-law, if he can recover the Beijing Division, what a world-famous military achievement! The position of a prince, even if His Majesty does not give it, I am afraid that the courtiers and the people will not agree! ”

Speaking of this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but sigh a little, "Zhu Ping'an is talented, but now it seems that he is still a little young, and he can't help but be too calm!" However, this is indeed a good thing for our Zheng family! ”

"Zhu Ping'an is pressing step by step, but Donglu can no longer sit idly by, Shandong is close to Jinggi and Hebei, with Zhu Ping'an, Donglu will not be able to feel at ease through Shanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and other places, and even south of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou have been in the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, the Toyo must first solve the threat on their doorstep. Yang Shicong is here to see our reaction and see if we will rush to Shandong. ”

"But my brother didn't ...... either?" Suddenly, Zheng Hongkui suddenly realized, and couldn't help but pat his head, "That's why my brother repeatedly emphasized that the first priority of the imperial court now is to exterminate the remnants of the thieves!" ”

Zheng Zhilong twisted his beard and smiled, "Yang Shicong is a smart person, he must be able to hear the meaning of our words!" ”

Zheng Hongkui thought about it carefully, and was still a little worried, "Brother still has to be cautious, the East is barbarian, he wants to be untrustworthy, and he has many tricks, so we still have to take more precautions, in case it ......!" ”

Zheng Zhilong nodded, "That's natural, but Dolgon is not a fool, he knows very well what the most important thing is in the Manchu Qing Dynasty now." On the side of the couch, there is a Zhu Ping'an, how do you let Dolgon sleep well? ”

Facing Zheng Zhilong's complacency, Zheng Hongkui couldn't be happy no matter what. He saw his brother's idea clearly, but it was just a matter of moving east and sitting on the mountain to watch the tiger fight.

The main force of the Qing army attacked Shandong, and Shanxi was naturally empty, so the Zheng army could march to Huguang without fear to complete the immortal achievement of exterminating Li Zicheng.

can seek skin with the tiger, which always makes Zheng Hongkui's heart feel unsteady, and with it, there is also an indescribable love.

He also knew that his brother Zheng Zhilong's jealousy of Zhu Ping'an, and it was precisely because of Zhu Ping'an's existence that the Zheng family could not control the Longwu Imperial Court single-handedly. Therefore, at the same time as Dolgon threw out an olive branch, Zheng Zhilong accepted it as soon as possible, and this kind of practice of throwing away the interests of the country for personal interests made Zheng Hongkui, who had read the poetry of the sages, extremely difficult to accept.

The enemy of the enemy is the ally, and this approach seems to be impossible to fault, but the Manchus were the number one enemy that threatened the Han people, and it was really right to make some kind of deal with them?

For a while, Zheng Hongkui's heart was full of contradictions. (To be continued......)